Reflecting on the 10th National Conference on Housing Mobility: On October 17, 2025, PRRAC and our partners at Mobility Works hosted the 10th National Conference on Housing Mobility in a space generously provided by the National Association of Realtors in Chicago, Illinois, with support from the Polk Brothers Foundation, AffordableHousing.com, CLPHA, CrossCountry Mortgage, Emery Celli, Enterprise Community Partners, Field Foundation, Klein Hornig LLP, NAHRO, Zillow, Chicago Community Loan Fund, Relman Colfax PLLC, and Yardi Systems. With over 150 advocates, academics, public officials, and service providers in attendance, the event proved to be a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and to get reenergized for the struggle ahead. It is no secret that these are difficult times for low-income tenants — and low-income Black tenants, in particular — and for the ecosystem of public and private groups that work with them to try to achieve a vision of housing as a human right, of inclusive communities, and of equal opportunity for all. We learned from experts about new trends in Housing Choice Voucher research, the intersection of housing and health, mitigating harm when providing mobility services in the context of involuntary relocation, and how to effectively challenge source of income discrimination. Former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and Julián Castro challenged us to think big in our efforts to address the housing crisis. Most meaningfully, we honored Betsy Julian, a true civil rights icon and former PRRAC Board member, with the Alexander Polikoff Memorial Award in recognition of her incomparable achievements in the fight for housing mobility.
Other news and resources
Housing on the Ballot: Bolts Magazine has a useful guide regarding what is on the ballot on Election Day this November 4, 2025. With respect to ballot initiatives, that includes hotly debated revisions to the New York City Charter; a proposal for dedicated sales tax revenue for affordable housing in Knoxville, Tennessee; and broader infrastructure bond packages that will direct some portion of their proceeds to affordable housing development.
Measuring Access to Opportunity in the United States: A 10-Year Update: On October 20, 2025, the Annie E. Casey Foundation published an important reportregarding its supplemental poverty measure and trends in child poverty. The report clearly illustrates the important role that pandemic relief programs played in alleviating child poverty and the harmful impact of the lapsing of those interventions.
